Now in podcast format: improvised music by Fred Frith, Myra Melford, John Hollenbeck and the New Origins trio, plus an unusual album from Ingrid Laubrock that features four different voice+instrument combinations setting short poems by Erica Hunt. The Pancrace quintet from France liberates the pipe organ from its churchly dependencies, while Sofia Gubaidulina takes a more credulous approach to Christian mysticism in a late violin concerto that we’ll contrast with her early side career as a free improviser. DJ Molécule pursues an unusual variety of crossover music that combines live and sampled orchestral sounds, Carl Schimmel channels 18th century contortionists, and the late Peter Ablinger creates layers of microtones and microrhythms. Finally, a 50th anniversary cameo by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart recalls their only joint tour in Spring 1975. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, originally broadcast April 27, 2025.
